Malaysia's Abdullah Badawi

Riz Khan asks the prime minister if elections will be free and fair.

The Malaysian election pits the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition party of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister, against three main opposition parties.

These are the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Islamist party Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) and the Keadilan party (PKR) of Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy premier.

The key question may not be who will win, as Abdullah is expected to easily sail to re-election, but whether or not the balloting will be free and fair and if the country's more than 10 million registered voters will turn out.

Wide-spread reports of "phantom voter lists" coupled with a virtual media blackout of opposition candidates has raised speculation that disaffected Malaysians may opt out all together.

It is against this backdrop that Abdullah joins the programme.

We will ask him about rising prices, growing ethnic tensions and whether or not he can maintain a crucial two-thirds parliamentary majority.